Talk of Fathers
by Lavender Leo
Summary: Katara and Zuko have some things to say to one another. Set after the ending of The Boiling Rock Pt. 2 includes spoilers . Oneshot. Complete.


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Bryke and Nick do.

--

In their father's arms was the safest place in the world as far as Katara and Sokka knew. Now, here he stood with those arms close about them, his embrace filled with love and joy at their reunion.

Katara snuggled close into Hakoda's side. All the fear for him she'd kept bottled up in her heart since that last moment he'd been in sight as they flew away on Appa, leaving him and the rest of the Water Tribe warriors to be imprisoned, melted away now that he was here with them again. They could have stood in that moment forever.

As the hug was ending, Katara looked up to see Zuko standing near them. His face was… different somehow. She couldn't believe her eyes, and blinked twice just to be sure - was he actually _smiling_? The image burned into her mind. Unanswered questions began to surface in her thoughts, questions that had gone silent since Zuko's betrayal in Ba Sing Se. She barely heard Sokka's voice as he introduced Suki and Chitsang to Teo, Haru, and The Duke.

"Another firebender, huh?" Aang spoke up with a welcoming smile. "Great! We can train together! Zuko's an awesome teacher."

_Zuko _is _smiling_, Katara realized, as the Firebender glowed at Aang's praise. _I don't believe it…_

"Training with the Avatar and the Prince of the Fire Nation?" Chitsang grinned. "Count me in." He and Zuko bowed to one another with respect.

And then he looked at her again. Katara blushed and looked away, pretending to be interested in something else, anything else. Toph and some of the boys were chatting beside her; she feigned attention to their conversation, feeling Zuko's gaze on her. It was like standing near a fire - you didn't have to be looking at it to feel its warmth, if you were close enough. Her skin was practically burning.

"When your feet get better, we'll have to do some Earthbending," Haru was telling Toph, "I don't want to get rusty."

"We don't have to wait," Toph replied easily, "at least, not for things I can do with my hands. Ever thought about _metalbending_?"

"Wow! Could you really teach me that?"

"Sure. It's easy enough if you just -"

"Katara?"

Katara nearly jumped out of her skin, but it wasn't Zuko standing behind her. It was The Duke, tugging at the edge of her tunic. "Yes, The Duke?"

His helmet covered his eyes; he sniffed a little. "I'm getting sleepy. Do you think it's all right if we go on to bed?"

She knelt down, giving him a little hug and smiling. Jet had said once that The Duke was probably an orphan, and had no memory of his parents. It made sense that he would turn to her as a mother - after all, the rest of the gang seemed to view her as a mother figure. _All except one_, she thought, sensing that he'd turned away again and was talking to someone else by the fact that she could breathe again. "Of course, The Duke. Go on and get tucked in."

"And will you tell me a Water Tribe story again?" The Duke yawned.

"How 'bout I tell you one of the stories from the Northern Air Temple tonight?" Teo offered, wheeling up beside them. He gave a nod at Hakoda, indicating that he understood Katara would want some time with her father, and Katara gave him a grateful smile. They went into the temple, followed by Aang and Chitsang, who were animatedly discussing firebending stances. Haru carried Toph in behind them, the two laughing at a joke somehow related to Earthbending. Suki and Sokka left a few minutes later, his arm draped lovingly about her waist.

Hakoda and Zuko were the only ones outside now besides herself. They talked in low voices beside the whispering fountain. Katara knew she was hovering, that they must be talking about something serious and probably personal, yet she couldn't bring herself to budge an inch. She stood in the doorway, watching her father and the banished prince in the shadows. Finally Hakoda rose, and to Katara's great surprise patted Zuko on the back, the way he did Sokka. She couldn't see their faces, yet she could tell that in a very short time, a bond had begun to build between them.

They turned to come inside then, and Zuko started. "Oh, I'm sorry. You were waiting to talk to your father, weren't you? I mean, of course you were, that's why you're standing there -"

"It's all right," Hakoda said warmly, putting Zuko at ease, "Katara and I are going to have plenty of time to spend together now, thanks to you and Sokka." He came forward and embraced his daughter again. "Good night, Katara. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Dad." Feeling strangely empty as her father left her presence, and almost a little afraid, she watched his strong frame disappear between the shadows of the cloister columns. She stood still for a moment, feeling that warmth on her back again and knowing with certainty that Zuko was watching her, waiting. She turned, and found his amber eyes boring into her own, like little gold flames. "Zuko, I think we need to talk."

"I know." He hung his head then, and the warmth of his stare faded, its absence chilling her arms. "I shouldn't have lied to you about where Sokka and I were really going, and I shouldn't have let him go into danger like that. I'm sorry."

Katara shook her head. "Why do you think you need to explain to me? My father, my brother, and a friend are all here with us and safe tonight, because of you. You don't owe me any explanation." She paused, biting her lip. "But I do owe you an apology."

Zuko's chin jerked up sharply. "What?"

"I didn't trust you before," Katara admitted softly. "Toph was right. I was letting my hurt feelings cloud my judgment, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you."

The prince sighed deeply. "It's okay. I know why you did."

She twisted a lock of hair in her finger; a habit she was unaware of, something she only did when she was nervous and at a loss for words. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, you gave me what I needed most in the world - you gave me my father back," she finally said. "And if you ever need me, for anything, I'm here."

"Thank you." Zuko gave her a poignant smile, then turned and rested his elbows on the balustrade, gazing out at the stars. "You're very lucky. Your father cares about you and your brother. He really loves you. He's a good man. _My _father… my father is a monster." He touched his scar gently with a finger.

Katara came close beside him, then lifted her hand. Gently, her palm covered Zuko's fingers, just above his scar. Zuko sucked in a shaky breath, surprised by the warmth of her touch. He had no idea that touching him affected her just as deeply. "Did he do this to you?" she murmured.

"Yeah." Zuko closed his eyes and nodded. "But I don't want your pity. Anyway, I don't deserve it."

Katara winced, withdrawing her hand and seeing as she had seen only once before the unspeakable depths of shame in his eyes. "I don't pity you, Zuko. But I _am _sorry. I wish things could have been different. I wish I could have healed you when we were -"

"You used the Spirit Oasis water to save the Avatar's life," Zuko interrupted roughly. "That's more important than a scar."

Suddenly, she remembered that day in Ba Sing Se, and with a jolt, she understood. _He hurt me when he betrayed me by joining Azula… but I hurt him first, when I walked away with Aang, and just left him there_. A pang of guilt struck Katara straight through the heart. All this time, she'd thought only of her own hurt feelings. She never imagined that Zuko might be hurting as well.

She looked at him now and felt so differently than she had then. Like ice beneath a midsummer sun, her anger had melted away, and with it the film over her eyes that had prevented her from seeing Zuko as he truly was. _Kind. Brave. Selfless._

_Beautiful._

Surprised by the turn of her thoughts, Katara studied him now, closely. She'd never really seen him before; not like this. As his scar was the mark of all the pain he'd endured over the years, so the wretched state of his person revealed all he'd gone through to bring her father and brother safely home. Zuko still wore his tattered red prison clothes, his body still smelled of sulfur and coal and sweat, and his jagged-cut hair was a long, wild mess, hanging in his eyes. This was the body of a young man, exhausted, spent, weary inside and out from a life that had showed him almost nothing but cruelty. And yet, he would have sacrificed himself today, for people he barely even knew. People she loved. They stood quietly together, and watched clouds drifting lazily over the moon.

It took a moment for Katara to find her voice, and when she did, it was scarcely above a whisper. "Zuko...I just realized something."

The prince looked over at her, curious. "What?"

"How beautiful you are."

Zuko thought his ears must not be working. _All those explosions, maybe? _Yet she was staring at him with no trace of a lie in her demeanor; and she had reached out to touch his scar, that horrid scar, as though it were the dearest thing she'd ever beheld. Even Azula couldn't lie _that _well. Shocking as it was, he had to admit that Katara's words were sincere. "But…" he spluttered, taking an uncertain step backwards, "you _hate _me."

"I used to think I did. But I was wrong. Can you forgive me?"

Touched, Zuko nodded. "Can _you_ forgive _me_?"

Katara's answer was to throw her arms around his neck, catching him by surprise. Slowly she felt his arms wind about her waist, returning the embrace eagerly, as though it were the first he'd ever had. Though she couldn't see it, Katara could feel that Zuko was smiling. Her own limbs were tingling and warm.

Concealed in the shadows of a window just above them, Hakoda watched as they held one another. When he'd seen Sokka's face after Suki wrestled down the warden, the chief of the Southern Water Tribe had known that the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors would one day be his daughter, as Sokka was his son. Now he gazed out at his daughter, hugging the Fire Nation heir in the moonlight as though they'd never been enemies at all. Hakoda grinned. _Well, I guess that answers that question_, he thought with satisfaction as he headed off to bed. _Welcome to the family, Zuko._


End file.
